Electrical conduction studies on single crystals of transition-metal complexes containing linear chains of directly interacting metal atoms

Abstract

Single crystals of [Pt(NH₃)₄][PtCl₄](Magnus's green salt), [Pt(NH₃)₄][PdCl₄], and [Pd(NH₃)₄][PtCl₄] exhibit anisotropic semiconducting properties with the highest conductivity in the direction of the metal-atom chain. The conductivities of the complexes which contain alternate Pd and Pt atoms are 10⁴ times less than that of Magnus's green salt. Conduction studies in the direction of the metal-atom chain are also reported for single crystals of Ni(dmg)₂, Pd(dmg)₂ and some related compounds, and the conductivities in the two types of complexes are compared.